Once Upon A Time
by blakes8th
Summary: Not all bedtime stories have a happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

Once Upon A Time

Disclaimer: New Tricks belongs to auntie Beeb, but she keeps letting Alibi play with them, and they lose bits!

Rating: T+ To be safe.

Author's note: Don't know where this came from, but if it cures my writer's block, so be it.

/

"Auntie Sandwa, We want a storwie!"

Detective Super Intendant Sandra Pullman, fearless, ball breaking, dog shooting, pride of the metropolitan police force closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her head was throbbing, and every time she looked at the clock, it seemed to her that the hands had moved backwards.

It had seemed like such a simple request, could she look after her friends four year old twin girls while their parents attended a family funeral. It was just for an afternoon, they would be back before seven o/clock in the evening and all Sandra had to do was keep them occupied until then. Easy.

"Yeah, easy." She sighed. She looked around at her normally spotless apartment, the remains of dinner was still on the table, who'd have thought that spaghetti could spread so far! And as for the lounge area, it looked as though a bomb had gone off in Hamley's.

"Pleeeeease Auntie Sandwa, tell us a storwie." Sandra looked at the sofa where two pairs of eyes were staring at her imploringly. Katie put her hands up in a praying gesture, or was that Jessica. Sandra normally had no problem telling the twins apart, but at this moment she felt so frazzled, she had no idea which was which. She sighed.

"Okay, why don't you pick out a book."

"We don't want a book storwie, Daddy makes up storwies for us." Jessica frowned, or was that Katie. To think she had taken an afternoon off work to be tortured by cbeebies, she just couldn't face any more children's television, yet she had no idea where to start with a story. Just then the doorbell rang, Sandra jumped slightly, it was only just after six, it couldn't be the twins mother yet, could it?

"Hang on, I'll just get that." She said as she picked her way through the minefield of Barbie and lego. 'Please let that be her!' She thought. She peered through the spyhole and slumped, bumping her forehead on the door.

It was her boss, DAC Robert Strickland. She took a breath and opened the door. Strickland took in her dishevelled state and raised an amused eyebrow.

"Have you been shot?" He asked. She looked at him puzzled, he pointed at her front, she looked down and saw the bright red stains on her blouse. She shut her eyes and blushed.

"Ummm, No Sir. It's spaghetti. What can I do for you?" He produced a sheet of paper from inside his jacket.

"You forgot to sign off on Gerry's holiday request before it came to me." He told her. "I can't put it in until you do."

"Oh, sorry." She opened the door and invited him in. "Umm, sorry about the mess. I'm babysitting." She blushed again. He smiled.

"Don't worry. I remember the mess my two used to make. I actually miss it sometimes." He assured her, his voice soft. She smiled at him. He followed her too the kitchen where she started to look for a pen. She had known exactly where to find one earlier, before the tiny tornados had arrived.

"Auntie Sandwa...?" She heard the singsong voice of one of the girls, she didn't know which, and she had given up trying to guess.

"Yes...Sweetheart."

"Is that your boyfwend?" She closed her eyes at the sound of girlish giggling.

"No! It's not. This is... is...Robert, he's a friend from work." She tried to explain. She caught his eyes, his expression was unfathomable, clouded.

"When are you goin' to tell us a storwie?" The other twin whined.

"Sorry girls, but I'm not very good at making up storwies. I mean stories!" She tried to placate them.

"Wobert, can you tell us a storwie?" One of the girls focused her blue puppy dog eyes on the newcomer.

"Girls, I don't think..." Sandra began, Robert stopped her.

"That's a good idea. Why don't I tell a story, and give Auntie Sandra a chance to clean up a bit." He smiled softly at her, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, as her boss shrugged out of his jacket and shed his tie, putting both over the arm of the sofa. He sat down and seemed totally relaxed as the little girls cuddled up either side of him.

"Right, what kind of story do you want?"

"Pwinces!"

"Pwincesses!"

"Bwave Knights"

"Okay, let me think a moment."

Sandra started to clear the mess of spaghetti away, thankful of the respite. She loved the little girls to bits, their mother was one of her closest friends, but she had been ill prepared for the amount of devastation two small children could wreak on a normally organised human being.

As she worked on the mess of the kitchen she listened as her boss started the story.

"_Once upon a time, there was a king. He lived in a castle with his son, the prince. But he was a very sad king because his queen had got very ill and had died..."_

"Like mummy's uncle Peter. He's gone to heaven." One of the girls interrupted. Robert nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Shhhh Jessie, I wan't to hear the storwie!" The other twin scolded.

"_The king fell in love with the daughter of one of his lords, but she loved someone else, one of the town's guards. They were very happy, but the guard had to go away to protect the land against the dragon. So the lord's daughter was left behind, with a baby boy. She was very sad, but the King told her that if she married him, and became a mummy to his little prince, he would raise her little boy as his own and be his Daddy._

_So they were married, and the little baby became a prince. And though he was raised as a prince, the King never really loved the little prince as much as his other son. No matter how much he tried, the little prince could never make the King like him, so as he grew up into a young man, he decided to leave, and he joined the King's army to be a soldier._

_He didn't do very well as a soldier, he was shy, and quiet, and he used to see other soldiers being cruel to the people, which he didn't like, so he left and didn't know where to go. One of the King's guards told him he would make a good guard, so he went to the school where they trained the guards, and he was very good at it, but while he was there, he fell in love with a princess who was also learning how to be a guard, she was a few years younger than him, and she was beautiful, and friendly, and everybody liked her, so he was afraid to talk to her. Then one day, he passed all his tests and was about to leave the school, so he decided to talk to her, but as he went to find her, he found out that she was already in love with another lord. So the prince left, without ever talking to her."_

Sandra was spellbound. The emotion in his voice told her that this tale was more of a life story, more fact than fiction. She had stopped clearing up and was watching intently. The little girls were sat, almost hypnotised by her boss's soft, musical voice.

"_So the prince did his job, and went about his life. Then one day, many years later, he found himself face to face with his princess again. She was one of the best guards that the kingdom had ever had, and she had three knights of her own under her command. The prince had the chance to serve with her, but he had become cold hearted and lonely and her knights thought that he was the type of prince who had always been spoiled, and given everything he had always wanted and had only got to be a guard because of the king. And no matter how much he tried, he couldn't tell the princess how much he loved her. Whenever he tried, he just ended up looking silly." _He paused, trying to think of the next part of the story. One of the twins sat up and looked him in the eyes.

"I know, I know! The pwincess fell in love with the pwince, and they got married!" She almost shouted.

"And they lived happily ever after!" The other finished. Robert smiled.

"Yes, that's right. They lived happily ever after." He looked towards the woman behind the kitchen counter, her eyes glistening as she stared in his direction. He cursed himself, he hadn't realised he had been pouring his heart out without even meaning to. He had rambled on without paying any real attention to the story content, and now he had been found out. He shifted slightly.

"What next?" The first twin asked.

"Well, the prince and princess are happy, so I think we should pick up all your toys before anything gets lost or broken." He suggested, ignoring their protests. He led the clear up, while Sandra cleaned the kitchen and table. She was cleaning on autopilot, her mind a million miles away, when she was interrupted by a knock on the door, she crossed the room and opened it, smiling at her friend.

"Sandra, thank you so much. I hope they've not been any trouble."

"They've been fine..."

"Mummy!" Sandra laughed as the two whirlwinds shot past her to greet their mother. She stooped down and gathered them into a bear hug.

"Hi, I hope you've been good for your Auntie Sandra." Both girls nodded.

"Yes Mummy." One replied.

"And Wobert." The other chimed.

"That's her boyfwend." The first finished, making Sandra blush.

"He's not my boyfriend." She hastily added, as her friend looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She grinned.

"Oh yes..."

"Really, he's just a friend."

"Mmmmm."

"No, really, he is.." Sandra was blushing furiously. Just then, her friends eyes widened as Robert bought the bag full of toys to the door.

"I think I got it all." He said, handing the bag to the twins mother.

"Thanks." She said, smiling as Robert turned back towards the lounge.

"Come on girls, lets leave Auntie Sandra to enjoy the rest of the evening." She winked at Sandra.

"It's alright Faye, you can come in for a bit if you like..."

"Oh, no I'd better get them home to bed." She replied, but leaned in and whispered. "I'll ring you tomorrow and you can tell me all about him." She grinned conspiratorially. Nodding towards the man who was picking up his jacket. "Say bye to Auntie Sandra."

The girls gave Sandra hugs and kisses and the little family disappeared. Sandra shut the door, giving herself a moment to think before she turned back to her boss.

"Thank you." She said, he looked at her confused for a moment. "For the story. I was out of my depth there for a minute."

"Oh, that's quite alright." He looked sad for a moment. "I always enjoyed telling my two stories. The bedtime story was one of the few times I ever had them to myself, Kaye couldn't be bothered with that sort of thing." He admitted. Sandra took a breath, she could ignore the past hour, but that wasn't in her nature, and she felt the need to confront the subject which was bothering her.

"That was an interesting story. I don't think I've ever heard it before." She said as she wandered towards him. He shrugged.

"I was just making it up as I went along."

"It sounded quite real to me, more like a life story." She probed. He flushed and started to edge towards the door.

"Well...I..."

"Just one question, I'm assuming that you are the little prince. Who is the princess?" She asked, standing in front of him, getting between him and the door. He looked at the floor, sighing.

"You really need to ask?" He said in a quiet voice. She shook her head.

"No. Not really. I never realised we were at Hendon together."

"Why should you. I was two years ahead of you. You were the most popular, the most stunning woman there, I was just the posh tosser that nobody paid any attention to. There was no reason for you to notice me."

"You really loved me from a distance?"

"Sounds a bit creepy when you say it like that." He shrugged, she smiled.

"I don't think it's creepy. But why haven't you ever said anything?" He laughed harshly.

"Oh, let me see. One, I was married, maybe not happily, but I'm not the type to be unfaithful. Two, from the moment I was introduced to you at the reception, it was quite clear that not only did you not remember me from Hendon, but that you considered me to be on par with something nasty you had stepped in. Three, even on the few occasions that I managed to pluck up the courage to ask you out for a drink, your three bodyguards would get in the way." He swallowed, his eyes shining. "You only tolerate my presence at work because you have to. I know that."

"I don't..."

"I'm not stupid, or deaf. I know I'm not your type..."

"Oh, what's my type then?" Sandra asked, an edge of anger creeping into her voice. He shrugged, he was used to Sandra Pullman being angry with him, he was on familiar ground now.

"Well, I know you're not into a politicians puppet, with a posh accent and the social skills of a limpet, who is the last person on earth that any woman wants to spend any time with." He replied bitterly. Her eyes widened.

"Is that how you view yourself?"

"It's how everybody views me. I know that. Christy told me that no woman in her right mind could ever find me appealing, that I am boring and bland. Kaye made it quite clear that she had only married me because she thought I would go all the way to the top, and that I'd disappointed her in all area's of our marriage..." He gave a bitter laugh. "This prince has given up on finding his happy-ever-after, he's better off on his own."

"Maybe the prince has never met a princess who appreciates him." She took a step closer to him, struggling to put this new information into some kind of order. She really didn't know what she felt towards the man in front of her. He was attractive certainly, Sandra knew she would be lying to herself if she denied that she had ever admired him, and on the few occasions she had seen him in his uniform, well, her insides had turned to jelly and she had found it hard to concentrate. And his voice, well that could be pure silk one moment, then as sharp as steel the next.

He brushed his fingers across her cheek, gently tucking a stray lock of golden blonde hair behind her ear. He smiled.

"Let me tell you the end of the story. The prince finally plucks up the courage to tell his princess how much he loves her, and for a while, she tries love him back, but then the princess comes to realise that he isn't very special, also, the princess's knights really don't like the prince, and the princess has to choose between her loyal knights and the prince. But the prince wants to spend his life with the princess, so when she finds herself a better prince, who she wants to spend her life with, the little prince is left broken hearted and defeated. So the little prince decides he'd better go before he does something stupid, that they will both regret." He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss against her cheek. "Or, it could all just be a silly fairy story and I am going to leave before I make more of an arse of myself than I already have. And tomorrow, everything will just be the same as it always has been."

He gave her a quiet smile as he sidled past her and opened the door. Sandra watched as the door closed softly, she leaned against it, thinking back over the last few minutes.

The only thing she was sure of was that he was wrong. Things would never be the same again.

/

Author's note: Not my best work. What do you think? Another chapter or not?


	2. Chapter 2

Happily Ever After

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

/

"There you go Mary, all sorted." Jack wiped the bead of sweat from his forehead as he sat down on the bench overlooking his beloved wife's memorial. He put the hedge clippers down on the grass and poured himself a glass of cloudy lemonade from the jug which he had put ready, he took a sip of the refreshing liquid, sighing in contentment. "I'll just sit for a while, then get the mower put away." He sat back and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I know love, it is hard work, but there's something very satisfying about a freshly cut lawn."

"I always loved the smell." He looked to the side and saw Sandra standing at the side gate, he shuffled to the side, making room for her on the bench. She hesitated for a brief moment before joining him.

"So what brings you to my little patch on this fine Saturday morning? I'm sure it wasn't the scent of fresh cut grass." He poured a second glass and handed it to her. She raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you. How come you have two glasses out here? I'm not interrupting am I?"

"No, It's just me and thee. Would you believe me if I told you that I had a premonition that you would arrive?"

"No."

"No, you're right. The truth is that when I picked them up out of the cupboard, I didn't realise that they were stuck together. They must have been damp when I put them away." He grinned. She smiled, sipping the cool drink. He watched her, noticing how the usual assuredness which was one of her trademarks seemed to have deserted her this morning. "So, come on. What's up?" She sighed. Her eyes fixed in front of her.

"I need some advice."

"Go on."

"It's not...It's not something..." She stopped, desperately trying to find some way to broach the subject which was plaguing her. He smiled.

"It can't be that bad, It's not like you're asking me for advice on your love life." He frowned as he saw her face fall. "Oh!" She shifted in her seat.

"I'm sorry...There isn't anybody else..." She took a breath and decided to bite the bullet. "You're the only person who I can trust to give me sound advice."

"Then we are in trouble. Come on, let's go and get a cup of tea and sit somewhere a little more comfortable." He stood and led the way indoors. Soon they were sitting in the homely kitchen, steaming cups in front of them.

"Well. I'm not getting any younger." He probed. "I trust this has to do with a man." She nodded. "Are you together?" This time she shook her head.

"No, no...Not yet. I don't know if we can...It's complicated."

"Why don't you just tell me." He suggested. She sighed.

"Did you know that Rob Strickland and I were at Hendon together?" She realised she had caught him off guard, he hadn't expected her to change subjects so suddenly. He blinked a couple of times.

"No. I didn't."

"He was two years ahead of me. I didn't even realise it myself until yesterday."

"So..What happened yesterday?" Jack asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to carry on with this line of conversation, he had never liked their boss. He had no time for the man, neither personally or professionally. He watched as Sandra struggled to find the right words. "Have you and him...?" He let the question lie open, waiting for some kind of reaction from the woman in front of him who, over the years had become a surrogate daughter to him. Sandra shook her head. "Thank goodness..." He muttered. Sandra looked at him.

"Would it be such a terrible thing?" She whispered. Jack shrugged.

"You can do better than him." He answered, honestly.

"Funny, that's very much what he said." She told him. She watched the surprise cross his features. "He loves me you know." She told him. He nodded.

"We noticed. Even before his divorce he was always trying to smarm his way round you. It was quite clear he fancies you."

"No, you don't understand. He doesn't fancy me, he's not after a 'bit of naughty' as Gerry would put it. He loves me, and it hurts him."

"Hurts? How."

"Because he doesn't believe I could possibly feel anything for him, because he's so used to being rejected, he can't possibly imagine that I would give him the time of day. And the worse thing is that before yesterday, he would have been right. I'd have given him the brush off without a second thought." She felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "I stood with you all and had a good laugh at his expense when Ms Berlin dumped him at the hospital. I told her that he had been pretty desperate, what I didn't realise was that he wasn't desperate for a shag, he was desperate for somebody to care."

"Tell me what happened." Jack's soothing tone opened the floodgates, and Sandra told him all about the previous day, and by the time she had finished, she was crying openly. He was silent for a moment.

"How do you know he wasn't spinning you a tale." He asked. Sandra shook her head.

"Jack, if you had seen his face, you wouldn't need to ask. He might has well have been stood in front of me stark naked. I could read him like an open book. He wasn't making it up." She sighed and leaned forward. "What should I do?" Jack thought for a moment.

"Well, from where I'm sitting, you have three choices. One, you do as he suggested and carry on as if nothing has changed, though from the fact that you are here, I would guess that that is not an option." She shook her head.

"No. You know me, I can't pretend nothing has changed." She confirmed. He nodded in agreement.

"I know. So you are down to two options. So you can either give him a chance and see what happens...Or report him for harassment and get him transferred away from you." He finished, sipping from his tea. Sandra stared at him, her face full of fury.

"You think I would do that to him? After he bared his soul to me you really think I would throw him to the hounds." He smiled softly at the anger in her voice.

"No. I know you wouldn't. If you wanted to bat him down, I know that you are quite capable of doing it yourself, and would have already. Of course, that means that you know what you want to do, the only question is, why did you feel the need to get 'permission' for want of a better word." He sat back as she contemplated his words.

"Maybe not permission." She answered eventually. "Perhaps 'acceptance' would be a better word."

"Okay. Why do you need my acceptance?"

"Because I know what you think of him, and Gerry and Brian both think the same. I know that if I get into a relationship with him, he'll be the proverbial rock, with you three as the hard place. I don't want to be stuck in-between..." She went quiet, he watched as she struggled.

"Do you want a relationship with him?" He asked. She shrugged.

"If you had asked me that before Friday, I probably would have laughed at you. I'd be lying if I said I'd never noticed him, he's a very good looking man, but now...I thought about him all last night, and for the first time in more years than I want to count, the thought of having somebody in my life who really cares... about me. I don't know...My track record with men is a wreck, I don't want to hurt him."

"Maybe the reason you have been attracted to bastards for so long, is that you have been waiting for your Mr right, and subconsciously you didn't want to be tied into a relationship when he came along. " Jack suggested. "And as for us, don't you dare live your life by the rules of three grumpy old sods who can't keep their opinions to themselves. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a man out there who's good enough for you, so I'll settle for a man who treats you right and makes you happy, and if that's him, then so be it." He smiled at her and took hold of her hand. "He's not my first choice, but he's not so bad...But don't you dare tell him I said that!" She laughed, a full hearted laugh which warmed his heart.

"Thanks Jack. I think I just needed one of you to tell me it's okay." She stood. "I'll let you get back to your garden. I have a fairytale ending to write." She leaned in and gave him a warm hug, which he returned wholeheartedly.

"See you Monday." He smiled, and watched as she let herself out. He smiled to himself.

"A happy ending do you think Mary? I hope so."

/

Robert Strickland sighed and hung the drying cloth on the hook on the cupboard door, glancing around the spotless kitchen, he wondered what he could clean next.

He had already gone around his house that morning, tidying and cleaning until the place was as immaculate as a show home, which wasn't that difficult as he was a tidy person anyway, and as he had been up since four o/clock when he had finally given up on any chance of sleep. But now he had run out of things to keep him busy. He had already washed and polished his car once, but was contemplating doing it again, just to stop his mind from playing the previous day over and over in his mind.

He had been so stupid. He should of realised by now that he couldn't let his guard down for one second around Sandra Pullman. She was his achilles heel, the one person who could break him. He should never have let himself get drawn in by her frazzled look, the spaghetti stained top and messed up hair which had broken his resolve. Every time he shut his eyes, he could see the look in her eyes as he had noticed her listening to the story, that's when he had realised that he had poured his heart out without even meaning to. He had just wanted to give her some respite, a chance to catch her breath, but he had ended up ruining things. Now she would never be able to look at him again without seeing him as some sort of a stalker. He sighed and put his head in his hands. He heard the clatter of the letter box and glanced at the clock. It was a little early for the post, but at least filtering the important stuff from the pile of junk mail would give him a few minutes respite from wondering what the hell he was going to do on Monday, when he would have to face her and the team, and he would see that look of disgust and disappointment in their eyes. A look which had plagued him since he was a child.

He wandered to his front door and frowned. There was only one envelope sitting on his doormat. He sighed, 'this won't take long' he thought as he picked it up. He turned it over in his hands, his annoyance turning to puzzlement as he realised there was nothing written on it. He opened the door and looked out, nothing, whoever had put it through his door had gone. He turned and shut the door again, sliding his finger under the flap of the envelope. He pulled out the pages, which were full of writing which was very familiar to him. He gulped, realising that he wouldn't have to wait until Monday to feel her disgust. He unfolded the pages and started to read.

_There was once a princess, who was popular and successful, but she was very lonely, because she had never found a prince who loved her. All the princes and lords she had ever fallen for only ever wanted to be with her because they wanted to share in her success, they didn't really love her and they all ended up hurting her, so she stopped letting them in, and she became closed off and suspicious of all men who told her she was beautiful. Then one day, a prince told her that he loved her, and she realised that he was different from the others, he didn't want to use her to make himself more popular, he really did care for her, and wanted to look after her, and the princess realised that she really wanted to get to know him, and so she went to his castle, where she wrote to him and waited outside, hoping that he would open the door and let her in..._

He had almost stopped breathing, he turned back to the door and opened it. Instead of the empty driveway of a moment before, Sandra stood, waiting for him, she smiled shyly.

"My story isn't as good as yours." She said. He took a step back inviting her in, closing the door behind them. "For one, I don't know the ending." She took a step closer to him, closing the gap between them, caressing his jaw with her fingertips. "Will you help me to write the end?" She whispered, her breath tickling his lips. Her arms looped around his shoulders as his hands closed around her back.

"I'll do my best, but I'm not very good at happy ever after." He answered softly. She smiled.

"How about 'to be continued'?" She murmured as she gently pressed her lips to his. He responded to her kiss, deepening the contact, pouring every ounce of his repressed love into the moment. Sandra was sure she was going to pass out at the sensations, she had experienced plenty of kisses before, but nothing like this. She couldn't help but return his passion, she had never felt anything so intense that, when they finally broke apart, she was breathing hard and in need of more.

"Wow!" Was all she could say, he smiled shyly, blushing.

"That was..." He whispered, looking for the words to describe the moment. She brushed her lips against his.

"Perfect." She finished. She captured his mouth for another kiss, pouring all her passion back at him. Their bodies were pressed together, relishing being close to another soul, hands grasping at each other, pulling at clothing until Robert eventually pulled back, just long enough to breathlessly gasp;

"Bedroom?"

"God! Yes!" Sandra replied, her voice deep and sultry. She followed as Robert took her hand and led her up the stairs, shedding clothing as they went until they finally reached their destination. Robert led her inside, but paused as he saw the grin on her face, she smiled.

"I think we're going to have to up the rating on this fairytale." She explained. He grinned back.

"I hope so."

/

A few hours later, Sandra stood at the kitchen sink, filling herself a glass of water, she was wearing one of Rob's t-shirts and she could smell his scent as she looked out of the window, she felt content in a way she had never felt before, especially when she felt his presence behind her. She sighed as he slipped his hands around her, kissing the back of her neck and nibbling softly on her earlobe. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensations which were running through her body as his touches triggered her nerve endings and pushed her back to the edge of arousal.

"Mmmmm." She moaned, turning in his arms, looping her arms around his shoulders. She smiled at the sight of him, clad only in a pair of jogging bottoms, the suited and suave police official replaced by a calendar pin-up. She stared into his eyes and was struck by a sudden realisation, which she felt the need to put into words.

"Rob, I need to tell you something." She whispered. He kissed her softly.

"What's that?"

"I love you." She watched as he stared at her, his eyes full of shock and dis-belief. "I know, it's a bit of a revelation, but I think I really do, because I've just realised that I want to spend my life with you."

"With me...Are you sure?" He asked nervously. She nodded. He gulped. "Like I said before, I'm not very good at happily-ever-after...I don't want to mess this up." She caressed the back of his neck.

"We'll handle whatever is thrown at us. If you're not sure of happily-ever-after, how about we try for happily-one-day-at-a-time and see where we go from there?" She grinned, sliding her hand inside his trousers, down his buttocks, making his eyes darken and his breathing quicken. "Now, how about we write another chapter."

/

_And the Prince and Princess, with the help of their brave knights overcame all the dragons and trolls who tried to stop them from being together, and they did live happily-ever-after. The end._


End file.
